Monday, March 18, 2013

Turtle Excluder Device Regulation and Shrimp Harvest: The Role of Behavioral and Market Responses

In March 2013 The 2011 Hong Award for Outstanding Article in Marine Research Economics (MRE) was presented to Zinnia Mukherjee and
Kathleen Segerson for "Turtle Excluder Device Regulation and Shrimp Harvest:
The Role of Behavioral and Market Responses" MRE Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 173-189 which was established by Dr. Seoung-Yong Hong, President, Inha University, Incheon, Korea, and is given annually to recognize outstanding works published in MRE.

Abstract:

Sea turtle bycatch by commercial shrimp trawlers has been a primary threat to the U.S. marine turtle population for decades. In 1987 the U.S. government passed a federal bycatch regulation that requires all shrimpers to use ‘turtle excluder devices’ (TEDs) while fishing in U.S. waters. This article develops a theoretical model that serves to distinctly identify three ways in which the regulation affects domestic supply: i) directly through escapement when TEDs are used, ii) indirectly by affecting the fishers' choice of avoidance activities, and iii) through an effect on the equilibrium market price. We then empirically estimate the model. The results indicate that, over the 1989–2003 period, the total estimated harvest loss for the industry from TEDs was approximately equal to 2.04%, which is considerably lower than industry claims.

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